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Healthy and Welcoming Sport

 

The best sporting organisations strive to improve their members’ health and create welcoming settings that encourage everyone to join in.

We know this following two VicHealth programs — the Healthy Sporting Environments Program and the State Sporting Association Participation Program — that were set up to help sporting organisations to become more healthy and welcoming. VicHealth partnered with State Sport Associations, Regional Sports Assemblies and sporting organisations to deliver the programs between 2011 and 2015.

Whilst these programs have concluded, VicHealth continues to invest in, and support sport organisations to create welcoming and healthy environments. This webpage is VicHealth and Vicsport’s shared commitment to providing best-practice resources from these programs for the community sport sector to continue to use into the future.

The materials (fact sheets, templates, guidelines, websites) used for these programs are now available to other sporting organisations that want to become more healthy and welcoming. The materials have been tried and tested and are informed by feedback and evaluation to ensure their relevance. They can be used by any sport and individual organisations can decide at what pace to use them.

Healthy and welcoming sports bring in more players, volunteers, spectators and community members. They also have a better chance of attracting sponsors. This all helps these sporting organisations to become stronger, and make a positive impact on the playing field and within their community. The good news is that even small changes can make a big difference to how healthy and welcoming a sporting organisation can be.

Resources to help your sporting organisation become more healthy and welcoming are presented here under the following headings in a form that is practical and useable for sporting organisations to work with:

Welcoming Sport

  • Inclusion
  • Women and girls
  • People with disabilities
  • People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
  • Aboriginal Victorians

Healthy Sport

  • Healthy eating and hydration
  • Reduced tobacco use
  • Responsible use of alcohol
  • Injury prevention and management
  • UV protection

Who can use these resources?

The resources contained in the following sections can be used by any sporting organisation seeking to develop a healthy and welcoming environment. While the resources were initially developed for State Sport Associations and Regional Sport Assemblies, they have been adapted and updated for the broader sporting industry and written in simple, easy to understand language.

How do I use these resources?

There is no specific process that your organisation must follow when using these resources. You can choose to use one resource on it’s own, address one specific topic such as Healthy Eating, or put a plan in place to move through a number of sections over a longer period of time. It’s a matter of working through a process that best fits your organisation at the time.

Becoming more healthy and welcoming

Once your organisation has decided to become more healthy and welcoming, it’s important to remember that changing behaviours and culture is a long-term process.

But the effort is worthwhile. Most of the sporting organisations involved in the VicHealth programs that experienced a positive change managed to keep it going. Remember, small steps can make a big impact. Your members and community will appreciate your work to make your organisation better for members and stronger for the future.


 

Healthy Sport

 

State Sporting Association Participation Program

The State Sporting Association Participation Program (SSAPP) was delivered between 2011 and 2014 in conjunction with 30 State Sporting Associations (SSAs). The program aimed to increase participation in community sport and active recreation, particularly among priority populations, such as:

  • People with disabilities
  • Aboriginal Victorians
  • People from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds
  • Women and girls

The SSAPP aimed to:

  • Bring about sustainable organisational change at a state and member level.
  • Increase the participation of priority populations in community sport and recreation.
  • Trial Everyone Wins (a resource framework) to determine its effectiveness to increase participation among priority population groups.

Healthy Sporting Environments Program

The Healthy Sporting Environments Program (2011-2014) aimed to support local sports clubs to become healthier, welcoming and more inclusive. The program was initially implemented by Leisure Networks in the local government areas of the wider Barwon region. Much of the work involved adapting and using existing health promotion programs and resources targeted to sports clubs.

Given the success of the demonstration project (which concluded in March 2013), the program was expanded to regional and rural areas throughout Victoria. Work continued with nine Regional Sports Assemblies to ensure that an additional 250 clubs receive tailored support to improve their club environments.

Clubs across the state were supported to implement policies, programs and practices to ensure that:

  • alcohol is served and consumed responsibly.
  • a variety of healthy food and drink choices are available.
  • smoke-free venues become the norm.
  • women and girls, Aboriginal Victorians and people from culturally diverse communities are provided with safe, supportive and meaningful opportunities to participate, free from discrimination and fear of violence.
  • injury prevention and management is prioritised within clubs.
  • measures are taken to reduce harmful exposure to UV.